Part 6 - A Case for Joseph Smith; A Case Against Polygamy

“Do the Mormons believe in having
more wives than one? . . . No, not at the same time. But they believe, that if their companion
dies, they have a right to marry again.” – Joseph Smith, July 1838

The
Relief Society’s Certificate against the Polygamy Charges

The Ladies’ Relief Society was only a few
months old, having had its first meeting on March 24, 1842.Times
and Seasons 3 [April 1, 1842]: 743. In
response to Bennett’s libelous statement that the Relief Society was a “seraglio,”
the Relief Society published the following statement:

“We the
undersigned members of the ladies’ relief society, and married females do
certify and declare that we know of no system of marriage being
practised in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints save the one
contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants,[1] and we give this certificate to the public to show that J. C.
Bennett’s “secret wife system” is a disclosure of his own make.

Emma Smith, President,

Elizabeth Ann Whitney, Counsellor,

Sarah M. Cleveland, Counsellor,

Eliza R. Snow, Secretary,

Mary C. Miller,

Catharine Pettey,

Lois Cutler,

Sarah Higbee,

Thirza Cahoon,

Phebe Woodruff,

Ann Hunter,

Leonora Taylor,

Jane Law,

Sarah Hillman,

Sophia R. Marks,

Rosannah Marks,

Polly Z. Johnson,

Angeline Robinson,

Abigail Works.

Times and Seasons 3 [October 1, 1842]:
940 (emphasis added).

Most of the above women were wives of the
leaders of the Church.Like Joseph
Smith, either these women told the truth and knew there was no plural marriage
system in the Church or they manifestly lied to the world. Notice that the Relief Society did not limit
their condemnation as to only the form
of polygamy.It is noteworthy that the
name “Eliza R. Snow, Secretary,” appears.This indicates that the statement she made many years later that she was
married to Joseph Smith was false.

Hyrum
Smith’s Letter in March 1844

After being informed by Elder Richard Hewitt of polygamous
teachings in the Church, Hyrum Smith wrote the following letter:

“Nauvoo, March 15, 1844.

To the brethren of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, living on China Creek, in Hancock County,
Greeting:—Whereas brother Richard Hewitt has called on me to-day, to know my
views concerning some doctrines that are preached in your place, and states to
me that some of your elders say, that a man having a certain priesthood, may
have as many wives as he pleases, and that doctrine is taught here [at Nauvoo]:
I say unto you that that man teaches false
doctrine, for there is no such doctrine taught here; neither is there any such
thing practised here.And any man that
is found teaching privately or publicly any such doctrine, is culpable, and
will stand a chance to be brought before the High Council, and lose his license
and membership also: therefore he had
better beware what he is about.”

Times and Seasons 5 [March 15,
1844]: 474 (emphasis added).

Hyrum’s
Affidavit Against Dr. John C. Bennett

Hyrum Smith provided the following affidavit concerning Dr.
Bennett:

“On the seventeenth day of may,
1842, having been made acquainted with some of the conduct of John C. Bennett,
which was given in testimony under oath before Alderman G. W. Harris, by
several females, who testified that John C. Bennett endeavored to seduce them
and accomplished his designs by saying it was right; that it was one of the
mysteries of God, which was to be revealed when the people was strong enough in
the faith to bear such mysteries—that it was perfectly right to have illicit
intercourse with females, providing no one knew it but themselves, vehemently
trying them from day to day, to yield to his passions, bringing witnesses of
his own clan to testify that their was such revelations and such commandments,
and that it was of God; also stating that he would be responsible for their
sins, if their was any; and that he would give them medicine to produce
abortions, providing they should become pregnant.

One of these witnesses, a married
woman [who was not named] that he attended upon in his professional capacity,
whilst she was sick, stated that he made proposals to her of a similar nature;
he told her that he wished her husband was dead, and that if he was dead he
would marry her and clear out with her; he also begged her permission to give
him [her husband] medicine to that effect; he did try to give him medicine, but
he would not take it—on interogating her [of] what she thought of such
teaching, she replied, she was sick at the time, and had to be lifted in and
out of her bed like a child. Many other
acts as criminal were reported to me at the time. On becoming acquainted with these facts, I was
determined to prosecute him [Bennett], and bring him to justice.—Some person
knowing my determination, having informed him of it, he sent to me Wm. Law and
Brigham Young, to request an interview with me and to see if their could not be
a reconciliation made. I told them I
thought there could not be, his crimes were so heinous; but told them I was
willing to see him; he immediately came to see me; he begged on me to forgive
him, this once, and not prosecute him and expose him, he said he was guilty,
and did acknowledge the crimes that were alleged against him; he seemed to be
sorry that he had committed such acts, and wept much, and desired that it might
not be made public, for it would ruin him forever; he wished me to wait; but I
was determined to bring him to justice, and declined listening to his
entreaties; he then wished me to wait until he could have an interview with the
masonic fraternity; he also wanted an interview with Br. Joseph; he wished to
know of me, if I would forgive him, and desist from my intentions, if he could
obtain their forgiveness; and requested the privilege of an interview
immediately.

I granted him that privilege as I
was acting as master pro. tem. at that time; he also wished an interview first
with Br. Joseph; at that time Brother Joseph was crossing the yard from the
house to the store, he immediately come to the store and met Dr. Bennett on the
way; he reached out his hand to Br. Joseph and said, will you forgive me,
weeping at the time; he said Br. Joseph, I am guilty, I
acknowledge it, and I beg of you not to expose me, for it will ruin me; Joseph
replied, Doctor! why are you using my name to carry on your hellish
wickedness?Have I ever taught you that
fornication and adultery was right, or poligamy or any such practices?

He said you never did.

Did I ever teach you any thing that
was not virtuous—that was iniquitous, either in public or private?

He said you never did.

Did you ever know anything
unvirtuous or unrighteous in my conduct or actions at any time, either in
public or in private? he said, I did not; are you willing to make oath to this
before an Alderman of the city? he said I am willing to do so.

Joseph said Dr. go into my office,
and write what you can in conscience subscribe your name to, and I will be
satisfied—I will, he said, and went into the office, and I went with him and he
requested pen ink and paper of Mr. Clayton, who was acting clerk in that
office, and was also secretary pro. tem. for the Nauvoo Lodge U. D.

Wm. Clayton gave him paper, pen and
ink, and he stood at the desk and wrote the following article which was
published in the 11th No. of the Wasp [newspaper]; sworn to and subscribed
before Daniel H. Wells, Alderman, 17th day of May, A. D. 1842; he [Bennett]
called in Br. Joseph, and read it to him and asked him if that would do, he
[Joseph] said it would, he then swore to it as before mentioned; the article
was as follows:

STATE OF ILLINOIS,
City of Nauvoo.

Personally appeared before me,
Daniel H. Wells, an Alderman of said city of Nauvoo, John C. Bennett, who being
duly sworn according to law, deposeth and saith: that he never was taught any
thing in the least cantrary to the strictest principles of the Gospel, or of
virtue, or of the laws of God, or man, under any occasion either directly or
indirectly, in word or deed, by Joseph Smith; and that he never knew the said
Smith to countenance any improper conduct whatever, either in public or
private; and that he never did teach me in private that an illegal illicit intercourse
with females was, under any circumstances, justifiable, and that I never knew
him so to teach others.

It is noteworthy that polygamy was
identified among the “illegal illicit intercourse with females.”Why would the debase Dr. Bennett tearfully
admit that Joseph never taught anything regarding polygamy?Further, why would Hyrum subscribe to such a
false testimony in the form of an affidavit if it weren’t the truth?

On June 15, 1842, less than one month after the Chauncey
Higbee-John Bennett Church trials ended, Brigham secretly took Lucy Decker
Seely (Mrs. William Seely) as his first plural wife.See
Stewart, Brigham Young and His Wives, 85.Did Bennett’s lascivious and sinful ideas
influence Brigham?

“The Voice of Innocence from Nauvoo” (March 20, 1844)

The Nauvoo
Neighbor for March 20, 1844, published an article entitled “Virtue
Will Triumph,” in which “The Voice of Innocence from Nauvoo” was
published.The article informed the
readers that members of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo had held four
meetings, two on March 9 and two more on March 16, to consider the adoption of
certain resolutions contained within “The Voice of Innocence from Nauvoo.”The meetings were held at Joseph Smith’s Red
Brick Store, in the large assembly room (which was on the second floor).It was reported that an “overflowing” crowd
attended all four meetings, with different ladies being present at each
meeting.The women heard the document
read, and unanimously adopted the preamble and resolutions presented to them
for their consideration.Among other
declarations is the following (signed by Emma Smith and H. M. [Hannah] Ells):

“Resolved unanimously. That while we render credence to the doctrines
of Paul, that neither the man is without the woman; neither is the woman
without the man in the Lord, yet we raise our voices and hands against John C.
Bennett’s ‘spiritual wife system,’ as a scheme of profligates to seduce women;
and they that harp upon it, wish to make it popular for the convenience of
their own cupidity; wherefore, while the marriage bed, undefiled is honorable, let
polygamy, bigamy, fornication[,| adultery, and prostitution, be frowned out of
the hearts of honest men to drop in the gulf of fallen nature, ‘where the worm
dieth not and the fire is not quenched!’ and let all the saints say, Amen!”

Again, polygamy is unequivocally categorized as a sin along
with bigamy, fornication, adultery, and prostitution.At no time is there any equivocal language
identifying Bennett’s unsanctioned form of polygamy as different from Joseph’s
form of polygamy.

Joseph never corrected or denounced these repeated official
publications against polygamy (Joseph was murdered on June 27, 1844).Yet, according to LDS Historian Andrew
Jenson, Joseph had at least twenty-seven wives in 1844.See
Andrew Jenson, Historical Record 6 [May 1887]:
233–234.Author Fawn M. Brodie published
the names of forty-nine alleged wives of Joseph Smith.See
Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History,
335-336.Todd Compton, in a more recent
publication, lists Joseph’s wives as thirty-three, with an additional eight
“Possible Wives,” increasing the number of alleged wives to forty-one.See
Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of
Joseph Smith, Signature Books, 1997,4,6,8.

Again, either Joseph Smith was one of the biggest liars in history
who was able to convince a thousand others to also lie, or the above scholars
and the LDS Church have it wrong.There
is no other alternative.

[1]
“Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of
fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have
one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in case of death, when either
is at liberty to marry again.” D&C [1835 Edition] 101:4.

Benjamin R. Horton, Attorney

A homeschooling father of three children and happily married in Salt Lake County, Utah, Benjamin Horton is a gun-toting anarcho-capitalist attorney who loves mountain biking, freedom, conspiracies, UFOs, diet Mountain Dew, and Kenpo Karate.